Returning Home
by JenniferJF
Summary: Additional scenes to The Return and The Quest. Spoilers for only Part I of each episode in the prologue. The rest of the chapters contain spoilers for the second parts as well.
1. Prologue

Somewhere, a phone blared loudly.

"Carter?" he asked, still half asleep.

She stretched across his chest – which was sort of nice -- reaching over him to grab the cell-phone off the bedside table.

"Who could be calling _now_?"

She glanced down at the caller-ID. "It's the SGC, Jack."

He grabbed her, pulling her against his chest. He mumbled into her ear, "Can't you tell 'em to go to hell? I though you had a pass?"

She wiggled in protest, trying to get out of his grasp. The friction of skin against skin was not increasing the odds that he was actually going to let go of her anytime in the near future. "Jack! I told them to call only if there was a life-and-death emergency."

He released her, his head falling back onto the pillow in defeat. "Two days. That's all I asked for. Two freakin' days without the Universe falling apart without her. Too much to hope for, I ask you? Why yes, Jack. It is. Sorry."

Sam, in the meantime, had propped herself up against his chest and was chatting softly into the phone. She rolled her eyes and smiled at Jack as she spoke. "What? Really, that's great Daniel. Really… great." Jack, having gotten over his disgust by finding more interesting things to do with his mouth than complaining, smiled smugly at the catch in her voice. "Yeah, as soon as I -- can… Yeah, he's here. Why? … Daniel!" This time, Jack couldn't resist chuckling, his breath raising goose pimples on her smooth flesh. He was pleased to notice Sam's next words were a bit rushed. "Look, I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?... Okay. Bye, Daniel…" She closed the phone and set it back down on the table.

She looked down at Jack. One eyebrow arched dangerously. "Yes?"

He laughed again, though with her hovering so close it might have sounded a bit more like a groan than he'd planned. "Looks like you might be heading out before I do after all."

"Unfortunately, it sounds like your trip is also likely to be a good deal shorter. Daniel and Vala think they've figured out where Merlin hid the Sangraal. How long can it take you to go make nice with the Ancients on Atlantis? You'll probably still get back before me."

"Me? Make nice? Wanna bet?"

She knew him well enough to recognize the trap, and still she asked. "Seriously?"

"If you make it home first, you owe me…" He smiled wickedly. "We'll see…"

"And if I make it home first?"

"You decide."

She paused for a minute, clearly thinking. "Hot toddies in front of a roaring fire and then…" Her laughter was as wicked as his smile had been as she added, "We'll see…"

Her words and the image they evoked along with the movement her laughter caused so close above him derailed Jack's thoughts completely. Reaching up, he pulled her down to him, sealing their wager in the most satisfying way imaginable.

The rest of SG-1 were getting very impatient by the time Sam finally joined them at the SGC to discuss their search for the Holy Grail. Considering Jack's mood, Sam knew they should have been happy she'd managed to show up at all.


	2. Waiting

She felt rather than heard him standing in the doorway of her lab. He was so silent.

"What?" she finally asked, turning to look up at the big Jaffa. After several long moments staring at each other, his eyebrow raised nearly imperceptively. She gave up. "Fine. Yes, I know. I haven't eaten." She glanced up at the clock feeling oddly victorious as she noted the late hour. "But it's 2130. The commissary's closed."

This time she couldn't miss Teal'c's slight smile. "The commissary is not closed. General Landry ordered it to remain open this evening. It would appear you are not the only person unable to leave."

Of course. With the Daedulus due to reach Atlantis at anytime, all available quarters at the SGC were filled with SGC and former Atlantis personnel who had found it as impossible as she had to leave for home until they had learned the fate of their friends. With a tired sigh, she gave up. "Okay, Teal'c. You win. Let's go eat."

Sam couldn't remember the last time the SGC's commissary had been this crowded, especially so late at night. In fact, she had been certain she and Teal'c would never find a table and was about to suggest that they take their trays back to her lab when she noticed Cameron Mitchell waving to them from a table in the corner.

As they approached, Sam realized General Landry was sitting at the table with Cam and Vala. By the food on their trays they had obviously just arrived themselves, and she glanced up at Teal'c who smiled enigmatically. Yup. She had been set-up. Which was okay, really. Spending the night brooding in her lab wouldn't have been healthy, anyway.

The others stood up as she approached. With a fresh wave of sadness, she realized they were, for the first time, giving her the respect due not to her rank as a Lieutenant Colonel but to her position as a General's wife. She refused to even consider the possibility it might be one of the last times as well.

Everyone resumed their seats. For several long, silent moments she picked at her jello. Finally, General Landry broke the silence. "I'm sorry."

She looked up, startled, but was relieved to see from his expression that there was no guilt behind his words. He was apologizing for the entire situation, not for any sense of personal responsibility. Sam smiled sadly at him, grateful at least for the attempt. "They were his orders. He knew this was a possibility when he went. We both did. Besides, it ain't over yet. We've gotten out of worse situations than this."

Sam noticed Vala watching her intently, and she tried to smile for the younger woman, knowing her thoughts were with Daniel, wherever he was. She was pleased to see Vala's own smile widen in response. She had understood.

Still, despite her brave words, Sam couldn't help wishing she were there on Atlantis with Jack. Anything was better than this waiting, of knowing she might be losing him right _now_, millions of light-years away, and she wouldn't even know it until it was too late. Damn…

Her spoon dropped onto her tray, the clatter sharp to her ears despite the noise in the room. She wiped in frustration at the tears forming in her eyes. The concern on the faces of her tablemates didn't help. "Look, guys. I know you're just trying to help, but I'm pretty rotten company right now." She gestured towards the door. "I should probably just go back to my quarters and try to get some –"

Her words were interrupted by the harsh blare of the overhead speakers. "Unscheduled Wormhole Activation. Unscheduled Wormhole Activation." General Landry, with SG-1 close on his heels, was already half-way out the door before the announcement had concluded.


	3. Alive

Jack O'Neill hated waiting, especially at times like these. He knew from experience the last few minutes were the hardest. So he was very grateful when Sergeant Walter Harriman's face appeared on the monitor mere moments after he had dialed the Earth 'gate from Atlantis.

"Walter!"

"Sir?"

"What are you doing there so late? – Never mind. Who's in charge?"

"Sir? General Lan—"

This conversation was getting nowhere fast, and Jack's patience was long gone. "No, Walter. Who's in charge NOW? As in right this minute?"

"Yes, Sir. General Landry is still on the base, Sir."

"Ah… And he would be?"

Hank Landry's face appeared on the monitor next to Walter's. "Right here, Jack."

"Hank! Good to see you." Now he was finally getting somewhere.

Hank Landry turned to Walter. "Chief? Can we be sure that's him?"

"He used Colonel Caldwell's IDC code, Sir."

Hank looked back over his shoulder. "Any way that could be faked, Colonel?"

"Well, Sir. It is theoretically possible, but that's him."

Visibly relieved, but not nearly as much as Jack himself at the moment, Hank turned back to the monitor. "Well, Jack, if Colonel Carter says it's you…" He smiled, and Jack couldn't help smiling back.

"Colonel Carter?" he asked.

Her face appeared in the monitor, and Hank and Walter backed off. "Yes, Sir?"

He studied her for as long as he dared before answering. She looked good. Tired, of course, but good. Although, there _was_ something there, some shadow he couldn't quite identify. Still, time enough for that later. "Colonel, is the 'bridge still working?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good, then Mr. Woolsey and I will be back as soon as we get the final OK from the med folks. Weir, Shepherd and the rest of them have already been checked out. We all seem to be okay. And Colonel?"

"Yes?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

She looked surprised, but quickly recovered. "Yes, Sir."

"I'm sure Mr. Woolsey and I have been listed as officially Missing-In-Action. Could you please call his wife and let her know he's okay. That he'll be home as soon as we can get him on the first bird out to D.C? Probably late tonight or early tomorrow. This must have been terrible on her – not knowing. She must be worried sick."

By the sudden brilliance of her smile, Jack knew he'd been understood. God, he loved her. "Yes, Sir. I'm sure she'll be relieved to hear he's okay."

He smiled for her. "Thanks, Carter."

"My pleasure, Sir. Oh, and General?"

He saw the sudden gleam in her eyes, but couldn't see a way out. "Yes, Carter?"

"You do remember our bet?" At his nod, she continued, "You won. Sir."

He couldn't help chuckling. "It would seem so. Colonel."

"Only, you never said…"

"I still haven't decided. How 'bout we pretend you won… You're better at this kind of thing than I am, anyway…"

It was her turn to chuckle. "Yes, Sir."

They stared at each other in silence for several long moments, neither wanting to break their contact. Finally, Jack forced himself to speak. "Good. Then… later... Colonel." At her smile and nod, he continued, "Hank?"

Landry's face appeared back in the monitor next to Carter's. "Yes?"

"We'll be coming through by jumper, so make sure the gate room's cleared. And have two teams ready to head back out to Atlantis, they're going to need help here ASAP. Oh, make sure there's at least one qualified jumper pilot on those teams. Everything else can wait until my formal report."

"Sure, Jack."

"Good."

"And, Jack?"

"Yes?"

"If I remember correctly, Colonel Carter was on a pass before this whole business started." Jack nodded, and Carter turned a surprised glance at Hank on the monitor. "There's a lot going on right now, but I think the rest of us can handle things here while she finishes off the rest of that pass… If that's okay with her?"

Sam nodded, clearly still a bit surprised, and Hank turned back to Jack. "Good, then you should probably head back here as soon as possible, Jack…"

"On my way." And then, with a final, "O'Neill out," Jack reached forward and finally severed the connection.


	4. Epilogue

In the fireplace, a log popped on the grate, sending bright sparks dancing up the chimney, but Sam hardly saw the fire before her. Her thoughts were turned inwards, trying to make sense of the day's events.

She had known for as long as she could remember how temporary life was. That in the blink of an eye everything could change: a line drawn between past and present, what life had been lost forever to what life had become.

Sam has expected such a moment today – had prepared herself for it since returning without Daniel and learning the replicators had taken Atlantis. She had known what Jack's orders were in that event and what the Daedalus would do when it arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy. She had expected the worst, but knowing Jack for ten years had her at least partially prepared for what had actually happened.

Still, when she'd stepped into the control room behind Landry and seen Jack on the monitor – and she'd known instantly and completely that it was Jack and no other – the sudden rush of relief had been nearly too much. If it hadn't been for Teal'c's hand on her arm providing silent support, she might not have retained her composure. As it was, it was all she could do to remain silent until General Landry had given her the opportunity to talk.

Once Jack had severed his connection to the SGC, Sam had headed to her lab to call Brenda Woolsey. The resulting conversation had been surprisingly difficult. Having to pretend not to completely empathize with the other woman was harder than simple sympathy could ever be, while at the same time Sam was thankful that at least she knew where her husband had been and they could still share their experiences fully, without the secrecy which necessarily clouded most SGC personnel's private relationships. She never wondered if it might be it easier not knowing and not worrying until the worse suddenly happened. She knew the answer to that question.

This was why Sam didn't fully relax until she heard Jack's limo pull up outside their house, a few muffled words to the driver, the slam of the car door, and then his footsteps heading for the door. She was on her feet and at the door before he turned the knob.

As he stepped into the front hall, one corner of Jack's mouth twitched in a barely concealed smile. "You weren't at the SGC," he accused.

Sam shrugged and nodded, suddenly too weary to respond in kind. "Yeah. I just couldn't find the energy to be the Colonel to your General."

Understanding her more than her mood, Jack's only reply was to spread his arms for her. Sam stepped forward into his embrace so quickly that his, "C'mere," became a sigh into her hair 'Me, neither," was what he actually said.

Sam and Jack stood clutched together mere inches from their front door for many long minutes. She let herself be filled with the soapy just-showered smell of him, the feel of his warmth surrounding her, and felt him relax into her as well. Finally , regretfully, they released each other.

"Hi, Sam," he said.

"Hi, Jack. Welcome home… Which reminds me…" She turned towards the kitchen. They had a bet to settle, and she'd put the whiskey and other ingredients out on the counter all ready for his return.

He caught her arm and pulled her around to face him. "Jack?" she asked, but the heat in his brown eyes left no question as to his intent. "We had a bet…"

"I thought you said…"

"Later," he said, and his mouth descending on hers would have swallowed up any protest she might have made. Though, for once, Sam had no intention of arguing with him at all.


End file.
